


A Promise To do More

by secretagentofsin



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: And love, Angst, Bill is a dick, Suicide Attempt, poor stan, sort of fluff at the end, stan need help
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-17
Updated: 2016-04-17
Packaged: 2018-06-02 22:16:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6584746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/secretagentofsin/pseuds/secretagentofsin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stanley's had a special connection with his brother since they were babies, but after 10 years apart that connection has thinned tremendously. Now Stan feels like Fiddleford is threatening his place in Ford's heart, and a certain demon is egging him on from the shadows.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Promise To do More

**Author's Note:**

> So, my first fic posted to AO3! And it's really dark and sad... I usually write happy and fluffy stuff though. Anyway, enjoy!

     Was it really that easy to replace Stan? The younger Pines twin couldn’t help but scowl at the thought as he watched Fiddleford and his brother chat. They were out on another ‘monster hunt’ as Stanley put it, and he felt like he was being third wheel’d. The two geniuses were only a step or two in front of him, but it felt like there were miles between them. It wasn't entirely Ford’s fault though, Stan could admit that. He’d tried reconnecting with his older twin, but it wasn’t easy after 10 years apart. Stan was also pretty focused on driving Fidds off.

     He’d come up with the idea a week or so after arriving. If he could get Fiddleford out of the picture, maybe it would make it easier for things to return to how they were before the science fair. There was a vague feeling of shame and disgust in the back of Stan’s mind, but he’d shoved it aside. Getting his twin back was worth it.

     The hunt was uneventful, boringly so because the Hide-Behind was exactly what the name entailed. At first they thought it only hide behind people, so when spinning around repeatedly didn’t work they tried all standing back to back. Stanley tried to keep from flinching when his shoulder touched Fiddleford’s, and when they still couldn’t find it they realized it could hide behind anything. The conman thought that was kind of obvious from the beginning, but as usual no one listened to him. The creature still refused to show itself after an hour or two, and eventually Stanford called it quits.

     The walk back was just as boring since Fidds jumped into a conversation with Ford that left Stan at the back, once again. That pissed the conman off more that it should, and he shoved his hands into his jacket pockets. He didn’t see the way Fiddleford noticed, or the worried frown that appeared on his face. They made it back to the cabin fairly quickly, but before they could head inside Fidds asked if he could talk to Stanley alone.

     “Well, alright. Just don’t take too long, we still have to work on taking apart the remains of the portal.” Stanford said from where he stood on the steps, and Stanley shivered at the mention of the portal, his face twisting into a grimace. He really hated the thing, for more reasons than the others knew.

     “We’ll be quick, Stanford.” Fidds said with a smile that made the younger twin’s stomach twist uncomfortably. He took a deep breath through his nose to calm himself, and let the lanky genius lead him around to the side of the cabin. Stan was clenching and relaxing his fists as they walked, and he didn’t notice how strange and sudden the thought of punching Fidds was. He was too riled up and tense to see that the thought wasn’t entirely his own. So when Fiddleford turned and opened his mouth to speak, to ask what was wrong, Stan jerked his left hand out of his pocket and clocked Fidds in the jaw.

     The hit made his head snap back, hitting the cabin wall with a nasty crack, and he fell to his knees as he bounced off slightly. Fiddleford was frozen in shock for a moment before the pain set in, and as tears welled in his eyes he reached up to check the back of his head and the side of his jaw. There’d definitely be bruises, and his head was only bleeding a tiny bit. Fidds silently thanked the universe for that small comfort before looking up to see why Stan hit him. He flinched back at the look of fury on the conman’s face, and he vaguely noticed a hint of confusion and shock behind the rage.

     “S-Stanley?” He whispered fearfully, shuffling back until he bumped the cabin. He just barely managed to keep the tears from slipping down his cheeks, and to his dismay the question only seemed to anger Stan more.

     “You… It’s…” He growled, his hands twitching and shaking as he struggled to put his thoughts together. His head was spinning, and he wanted it to stop. The only clear thought in his head was the urge to punch Fiddleford until he left. There was really no other choice, right? Stanley raised his fist, the knuckles already turning red, and as he swung he finally noticed how terrified Fiddleford was. His hand froze midswing, and his expression turned blank.

     Stan recognized that look of terror and resignation. He remembered how that felt, to be at the mercy of someone bigger and tougher. Stanley’s eyes widened as his entire body started trembling. He was the big-and-bad kid now, and he was hurting someone like he and Ford had been. The conman was faintly aware of Fiddleford standing and asking if he was alright, and that made it even worse. Stan barely felt the tears now streaming down his cheeks, too busy turning and dashing inside the cabin. He skidded past Ford without a thought, ignoring the worried questions that made the nasty feeling in his heart grow, and bounded up the stairs.

     Stan felt like that feeling was wriggling it’s way up through his throat, trying to suffocate him. His hands were shaking and he couldn’t get enough air no matter how hard he gasped. His mind was spinning out of control and he stumbled towards his bed. Stanley was barely even thinking when he wrenched open the bedside drawer, and shoved a shaky hand in. He rustled around, and froze when his fingers brushed against cold, hard metal. Stan felt like the air was punched out of him, his vision going black for a moment, and when he could see again the gun was in his hand, finger on the trigger.

     Was he being to hasty? No. No, he would never get his brother back once Fiddleford told Stanford about what happened, about the past week of bullying. It was such a sensitive topic for the twins that Stan knew Ford would never forgive him. He was just like dad said, a failure, a dud. Stanley checked if the gun was loaded, and hesitated when he saw it was. There was no turning back if he went through with this. A small voice in his head wondered if he could turn back, if Ford would bring him back. Stan knew he would stop at nothing to bring the smarter twin back. He’d even risk the world if he had to.

     But that was one of the biggest differences between them. Stan was selfish and only helped himself while Ford worked for everyone. That small voice in his head was quieter as it said that wasn’t true, that Stan was so much better than he thought.

     “No…” Stanley sobbed, fisted a hand in his hair and placing the barrel of the gun against his temple. The metal was cold against his skin, so much so that Stan almost thought it burned. It felt heavy, like the duffel had back when his dad had tossed him to the street like nothing more than trash.

     D̝͓̳͑͗̐o͈̥̩̿̌̍ ̧͈̖͗́̄į̛̱͚́̔t͚̞̪̓̊͘, someone mumbled in his head in a voice he didn’t recognize. It sent chills down his entire body, and it made his finger twitch against the trigger. Stan tensed, thinking he’d pulled it, but nothing happened. His head was intact. Instead of relaxing in relief, he held onto that feeling and tightened his grip on the gun. Stanley’s body felt hot and cold in the most agonizing way, and he knew it was now or never. He repeated that to himself, and as he did the chilling voice from before joined in.

     N͇͇̱̿̚͝ǫ͖͒̀̎͜w̺̙̥͐͒̔ ̱͍͉͂̌́ö̲͙̤́̀̓r̢̧͈͛͊̓ ̛̖̥̬͊͘n͔̻̥̂͗̚e̜͖̹͛̍̇v͔̥̰̎̆̚ȅ̢̞͙̆̓r͍͚̯̈́̓̉,̦͉̹̅͛͝ ̤̯͈̃̄͝ṋ̨̺̈́͒̐ó̠̦͔̀̈w̙̞̲͂̀̔ ͉̝̹̀̈́̆o̘̹̖͋̉̚r͇̦͈̃̈́̇ ̜̝̱͗͆̅ǹ̝̤͙̐͊ë̤̺͍́͋͝v͖͚̘͐̄̈́ĕ͍̩͐̓ͅr̫̫̩͑͐͠.͕͍̖͐͛̄.̭̝̔͒̿ͅ.͙̰̪̓̄̚ it chanted, and Stanley squeezed his eyes shut, a panicked sob tearing from his throat.

     Now or never, he asked the universe one more time, and it gave an answer he didn’t expect.

      _Never._

     The bedroom door behind him opened, not with a bang or anything extravagant. Just a twist of the knob as Stanford and Fiddleford stepped inside. They acted immediately, throwing themselves at Stan who sat on the bed facing away from them. Fidds grabbed the gun and tossed it across the room as Ford wrapped his arms tightly around his twin’s shoulders and dragged him down on the bed so he couldn’t go after it. The twins wrestled for a minute, both growling and struggling to speak, but finally Stanford gained the upper hand and trapped Stanley against the sheets.

     "What the hell were you thinking?!“ He screamed in fear, his glasses skewed and face red. Stan vaguely noticed tears in his eyes, and he turned his head just slightly to see Fiddleford staring at him with tears streaming down his face. Both geniuses were shocked when Stanley only sobbed, trying to curl in on himself as his body shook uncontrollably.

     "I-I don’ _know_ , Ford! I-I just, nothing w-was making sense, and s-someone was telling me to!” The younger twin cried, and Stanford pulled him into a hug. He threaded a gentle hand through Stan’s hair, humming quietly to calm him when he heard Fidds whisper something that made him freeze. 

     “It was Bill…” Ford looked at his friend and partner in shock as he slowly came to the same realization. He turned back to his twin who was beginning to calm but was still sniffling and whimpering. Stanford silently swore to do more, and laid a promising kiss on Stanley’s head.


End file.
